A Life Redone
by SerenitySparrow
Summary: To ensure the survival of Crystal Tokyo, all the Senshi and Generals are sent back to the Silver Millennium with no recollection unless and until they get the princesses to fall in love with them all over again.
1. Prologue

Shattered was his illusion of happiness, his belief that no matter what happened, everything would be perfect in the end. Everything he had ever known and loved had been taken away from him: his beautiful wife with silver-blonde hair that fell far down past her knees was trapped in a diamond coffin that her powerful Silver Crystal had created, sleeping forever until he could find a way to revive her without hurting her; his young daughter with cotton-candy pink hair sent to the past so she wouldn't be harmed; and his kingdom destroyed almost beyond recognition.

King Endymion allowed a few tears to slip out of his eyes, his staff clutched in his right hand as he gazed out at his beloved city. Buildings, some of which still blazed with fire, were torn apart. The majority of the structures now stood at only half the height they had before and even more no longer stood at all. He had failed Crystal Tokyo as their king, unintentionally allowing them to be invaded and attacked by the evil Lady Godiva, mistress of a world she called Celphrasia. Of what meaning and origin it was derived from Endymion had no idea nor did he care.

Endymion spun around on the balcony outside of his bedroom at the sound of a heavy footfall striding quickly towards him. He held his powerful staff at the ready out in front of him, prepared to defend himself should any foe decide to attack.

"It is only I, my Lord."

At the familiar masculine voice, Endymion sighed warily and lowered his staff back to his side. "What are you doing here, Kunzite? I thought you would be consoling your wife."

Several years after Endymion and Serenity had married, the four generals -who had been Endymion's best friends and guardians during the Silver Millennium before being brainwashed by the jealous Queen Beryl- had been resurrected to be with the women they loved. The women who protected his wife and loved her as a sister, leader, and friend.

"She has fallen asleep. She hasn't slept in weeks, so I slipped a sleeping draught into her wine." The tall, silver-haired general came to a stop next to Endymion as they stared out over the railing. His broad, muscular shoulders were more pronounced by the gray uniform he wore, his hands folded neatly behind his back as he carefully observed his king from the corner of his eye.

"Ah." Other than that, Endymion made no other noise.

"I can help you fix all this, Endymion," Kunzite told him, his face free of emotion as he continued to stare out at what used to be a prominent kingdom.

"How?"

Kunzite turned to face his trusted friend and liege, a hardened, serious look on his tanned masculine features. "I'm afraid it will have to involve returning to the past."

"In what way? And how far into the past?"

"I'm afraid we would need to go all the way back to the Silver Millennium, about two weeks before you were officially introduced to Princess Serenity."

Endymion's eyes narrowed. "Why?"

"There are certain things we need to change. Certain things that need to be prevented."

"And that will stop the destruction of Crystal Tokyo?"

Kunzite nodded silently. "We know how we were lured by Queen Beryl and how she brainwashed us and tortured us. We can stop this from happening."

"If you travel into the past, your memories will be erased. You know this very well. So how will you be able to prevent Beryl from capturing you?"

Kunzite bowed his head in thought for a few minutes. Then he looked up. "Queen Selenity will be able to see into the future. Surely she won't allow us to be trapped by Queen Beryl to become her slaves once more. She loved the Scouts almost as much as she loved her own daughter. She wouldn't allow us to kill them." Kunzite gulped painfully as images of the past, of the Silver Millennium, flashed through his mind. Of his own silver sword gliding soundlessly into Mina's beautiful chest, her body crumpling to the ground as she asked him through her tears why he had turned against her.

Then he had gone after Endymion.

Endymion cut into his painful reminiscing. "That won't work, Kunzite. You know Selenity never liked to interfere with the timeline or fate."

"Well, going into the past is the only way we can save the present."

Endymion gestured for Kunzite to follow him and they began to stride down the long corridor of the Crystal Palace. Their footsteps echoed against the walls as they walked, both with matching, even strides.

"There is a way you could retrieve memories of what would happen if you fell victim to Beryl," Endymion murmured emotionlessly.

"How is that, my Liege?"

"Well, it wouldn't happen until after you fell in love with your princesses and they with you. And I remember how adamant you were about staying away from the princess of Venus." Endymion allowed himself a small smile as he recalled the way Mina had followed Kunzite around day and night trying to get his attention and how the stiff general had ignored her until one day he found her in the arms of another man. That poor soul had been beaten to within an inch of his life.

Next to him, Kunzite reluctantly chuckled. "Be that as it may, it still did not stop me from falling in love with her and becoming engaged to her."

"True; but, if I do send you all to the past and you retrieve your memories as you fall in love, the other generals will know before you do."

Kunzite sighed. Endymion knew that his head general was accustomed to being the first to know everything, so knowing that being sent back would require him to be the last aware of the goings-on had to sting.

"That is something I will have to deal with."

Fifteen minutes later, they came to a stop in front of the throne room. "The only way to travel back to the past is to have Sailor Pluto send you there," Endymion informed Kunzite. "You will find her at the Time Gate."

"Are you going to inform the others of this?" Kunzite inquired.

"There is no point," Endymion replied. "They won't remember it."

"They will once they've sealed their fates with the princesses," Kunzite pointed out.

Endymion tapped his chin thoughtfully. "That is true." Endymion gazed up at Kunzite, who was two inches taller than him, through the white mask he wore over his eyes. "I think you are right, Kunzite. You have alway been correct in matters such as these."

"That is why I am your right-hand soldier."

Endymion clapped Kunzite on the shoulder. "Well, I shall send you now to Setsuna and as you convince her to rewind the past, I'll inform the other generals of what we are going to do."

"Good luck, my King."

"And good luck to you, Kunzite."


	2. Chapter One: The Meeting

AN: Well, here's the first chapter. It's not as good as I was hoping it would be, but I definitely intend on the rest of the story coming out much better.

DISCLAIMER: Sailor Moon and all characters and items belong to Naoko Takeuchi, not I. :(

* * *

"Only two weeks until the Earth prince and his guards arrive!" Princess Mina of Venus cried excitedly as she burst into Princess Serenity's bedchamber, where the heiress to the throne of the moon lay sleeping.

"Hmm? What?" Serenity sat up and groggily began to wipe at her eyes, blinking rapidly to adjust to the sudden onslaught of light in her room.

"How can you still be abed at this hour?" Mina asked chidingly, shaking her head with a soft smile of fondness for her princess. "We still have so much to do in regard to preparing for the Terrans' arrival in two weeks."

Serenity waved her off and lay her head back down on her soft pillow, bolting up with a start after only a few seconds. "Two weeks?" she cried, leaping out of bed with a speed that took Mina slightly off-guard. "Oh, I haven't finished studying up on Earth culture or its geography. I'm still studying about Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire and Cleopatra! Not to mention that I haven't had time to order the dress I want to wear when I finally meet the prince..."

Mina placed her hands on Serena's shoulders and gently shook her. "Serena, calm down. We still have two weeks to finish making preparations and finish our studies."

Serena calmed only slightly. "Where's Amy? I need her help in learning about the Nile River!" She ran out of the room in a flash of silver before Mina could even respond.

Mina, still amazed that Serena was running off to _learn_, shook her head and made her way out of the room. She nearly collided with the fiery princess of Mars when she entered the hallway.

"Watch it, Sere..." Raye began, not noticing it wasn't Serena until she looked up and her amethyst eyes locked with Mina's. "Hey, you're not Serena."

"Great observation, Einstein," Mina replied sarcastically. "What gave it away? The blonde hair? The lack of meatball-shaped pigtails?"

Raye rolled her eyes as the two girls began to walk down the hallway together. "So, where is she anyway? She still sleeping the day away?"

"She was until I reminded her that the Earthlings would be here in two weeks."

"Two weeks? You must have your facts wrong, Mina, or you've simply not grown accustomed to the moon time yet. The Earthlings are going to be here tomorrow."

Mina's cornflower blue eyes widened and she nearly stumbled over her own feet. "Tomorrow? Uh-oh, wait until Serena finds out..."

At that moment a loud wail that sounded suspiciously like the Moon Princess echoed throughout the narrow halls.

Mina and Raye exchanged exasperated looks. "That sounds about right," Raye muttered in annoyance.

* * *

Amy, the beautiful blue-haired princess of Mercury, tried not to rub her temples in aggravation as Serena continued to try and understand the purpose of the religion of Christianity on Earth. There were many dialects in which the religion was spoken and Serena seemed to want to learn all of them. So far, she could not utter a single coherent statement in any of the languages.

"Serena," Amy began, but Serena continued to prattle on as though she hadn't spoken. After several more failed attempts to softly gain Serena's attention, Amy grew fed up and, in a very un-Amy-like fashion, slammed her hand down against the oak tabletop.

Serena jumped in surprise and, with wide blue eyes, looked up at the usually soft-spoken, quiet princess. "Amy?"

"Serena, I'm sorry for the outburst, but I could not otherwise get your attention. Even if we did still have two weeks to study, you are never going to be able to memorize all the aspects of Earth's different religions. After all, there are over two thousand different religions throughout the planet."

Serena's eyes widened and she stumbled to the left. "Two thousand?" Growling, Serena slammed the book she had been studiously examining shut. "And all this time I could have been watching my favorite Moon play." She stood to her feet and headed for the door, pausing to look back at Amy, who still sat at the small coffee table. "You coming, Amy?"

"No, Serena, I think I'm going to go grab a glass of water and lie down. I find that I have developed a rather severe migraine."

"Oh; well, I hope you get to feeling better." Serena shrugged and walked out of the room.

* * *

A little over an hour later, Serena swung back and forth in her favorite flower garden, which consisted of hundreds of colored roses imported directly from Earth itself. As she swung, Serena gazed longingly up at the blue and green planet above her, kicking at the soil beneath her feet. How she longed to see the roses, and several other wildlife from Earth, in their natural element.

All her life she had been forbidden from traveling to the planet that her home revolved around for reasons involving political issues between Earth's government and their reluctance to have to submit to the Silver Alliance. Her professors and Amy had all tried to teach her the importance of the falling out between the moon and Earth, but Serena had been unable to focus. Her mind, from an early age, had been filled with daydreams of a handsome prince with dark, ebony hair and eyes as brilliant as freshly shined sapphires. Those, however, were the only distinguishing features that Serena could see. His face had always been hidden in shadows. And how she knew that he was a prince was still beyond her, yet she was positively certain that he was a prince.

Which was the reason Serena so looked forward to the Earth prince's arrival and why she had wanted to impress him with her knowledge of his planet. There was a strong feeling of eager anticipation welling in her chest that Serena was positive had to do with the Earthlings' arrival.

Serena's back stiffened and she ceased swinging at the feeling of being watched and she spun around, prepared to run if needed. Her stance relaxed when Mina stepped into the light, her long blonde locks tied back with a bright red bow.

"Mina, you startled me," Serena said, resuming her swinging.

"I'm sorry, Serena." Mina sat down beneath the branches of the oak tree that Serena's swing hung from. "I know you didn't have time to order that dress you wanted, but I managed to have a beautiful dress made up for you about a month ago."

Serena's eyes widened in surprise. "And you weren't going to tell me?"

"Well, I was thinking that if you had ordered the dress yourself, I would get to wear the dress I have hanging in my closet and look more beautiful than you."

"Why, you..." Serena leapt from the swing and playfully launched herself at Mina, the two of them rolling over on the ground amidst gales of laughter.

* * *

The rest of the day passed by in a blur for all of the princesses. There was so much that had to be done in such a short amount of time that put a lot of stress on the Senshi. Aside from making sure that their dresses would be ready in time for the arrival in the morning, all the Senshi had to ensure that the security around the Palace and grounds were well in place and impenetrable.

As she strolled down one long empty corridor, Mina sighed. At the beginning, she thought that inviting Earthlings up to the Moon was going to be a grave mistake on Queen Serenity's part. Earth had removed themselves from the Silver Alliance for a reason and wasn't too keen on letting the rest of the universe know why. Mina had the strangest feeling that they were hiding something, but she didn't know what. What were they after to be asking to join the rest of the planets once more without giving them a reason as to why they were requesting to join? They couldn't be trusted.

Especially not the Prince and his generals. From what information Mina had been able to glean about the five men, she was able to piece together that, aside from the fact that they were notorious players who never bothered to consider a healthy monogamous relationship with any woman, they were men who made sport about collecting the most precious gems in the world.

And now that they had collected all the precious jewels that there were to collect on the planet Earth, Mina was sure they were after the Silver Imperium Crystal. After all, why else would they want to come to the moon?

Mina paused in her train of thought and ceased walking, coming to a stop in front of the Prayer Room. But, come to think of it, even when it had been part of the Silver Alliance, the moon had never fully trusted Earth or any of its leaders, so they had never been made aware of the Silver Crystal. So, they couldn't be coming up here for that reason. Besides, they had their own powerful crystal that was protected by the crown prince, Endymion.

Perhaps Mina was just being overly protective. It had been many years since the moon had received visitors of any kind. Not since the princesses of the inner planets were sent to the moon to protect and befriend Serena.

Positive that's all it was, Mina continued her walk down the hall, inspecting each room carefully as she went.

* * *

Mina stood tall and rigid between Serena and Lita, the Jupiter princess, as they all stood proudly erect in the Transportation Room. They watched in slight awe as a bright white light flashed through the room, blinding them momentarily. When the light faded, they discovered there were five men standing in the transportation pod; well, one was standing, the other four knelt beside him.

The man standing-tall with wavy, ebony hair and entrancing blue eyes-stepped forward and bowed respectfully to Queen Serenity. When he straightened up, he briefly locked eyes with Serena, who blushed and turned away.

Endymion, better known as Darien, smiled softly out of the corner of his mouth and turned his full attention back to the queen. "Queen Serenity, we appreciate greatly your agreeing to meeting with us. I am Prince Darien and these are my right-hand generals and most trusted confidantes: Kunzite, Jadeite, Nephrite, and Zoicite."

The men who had come with Darien slowly stood to their feet, also taking a moment to bow before the almighty Lunar queen.

"It is an honor to meet you all," Queen Serenity said with a kind smile. She turned to Serena, who was still blushing furiously as she discreetly stared at the handsome Terran prince. Queen Serenity hid a knowing smile as she began to make the introductions.

"Gentlemen, this is my daughter Serena." Serena politely nodded her head in acknowledgement. "The princess and defender of Venus, Mina."

Mina copied Serena's movement, her cheeks flushed as her gaze landed on the tall, broad-shouldered man with silver hair that fell an inch or two past his shoulders that Darien had introduced as Kunzite. Her heart was inexplicably pounding in her chest and she subconsciously licked her dry lips.

"The princess and defender of Mars, Raye."

Raye nodded as well, her lips pursed as she eyed all the men from Earth in distrust. She could feel Jadeite's blue eyes on her, trailing over her body in the long, flowing red down she wore; heat seemed to scorch her entire being from that blonde general's gaze alone. But she ignored it and continued to focus her attention on Darien, who had come here, she was sure, to seduce Serena. She had seen evidence of his intentions in the flames of a great roaring fire in the Temple Room, whether Darien was aware of it yet or not. She would have to keep an eye on him while he was on the moon.

Queen Serenity continued. "The princess and defender of Jupiter, Lita."

Lita, excitement shining brightly in her emerald green eyes, nodded and waggled her fingers flirtatiously at the general with long auburn hair, the same color of her own hair. Nephrite, as Lita had heard him referred to, sent a wickedly sensuous smile her way, but other than that, gave no notice of her.

"And the highly intelligent princess and defender of Mercury, Amy."

Amy nodded, trying not to look into the entrancing blue eyes of the blonde-haired general that stood across from her, his hair tied back with a black bow. She knew he was watching her with a quirked brow interestedly. The brief look she shared with him bespoke volumes of how smart he was and how in-depth he would be able to hold a conversation. He was quite handsome, as well, which certainly did not slip by her unnoticed.

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Darien murmured, he and his generals going around to shake each and every princess's hand in greeting.

Kunzite's eyes were narrowed into tiny slits when he reached Mina, disapproving of the indecent dress she had chosen to wear that day. It was a light golden color that stopped maybe two inches below her thighs, exposing firm tan legs that were evidently toned to be ready to fight at any moment. The front of her dress dipped ridiculously low between her breasts, the two round globes pushed together perfectly by the tight binding which kept the cloth from completely falling open.

Mina, on the other hand, almost had stars in her eyes as she gazed admiringly up at the silver-haired general as he murmured a curt 'hello' in passing before moving on to greet Lita. Mina could sense that he had a strong, confident aura around him, implying that he had a strong backbone and menacing demeanor. He could intimidate anyone with a single glance and that would make him a most useful ally.

Mina would hate to be a foe of Kunzite. He was terrifying. And she had only just met him.


	3. Chapter Two: Caught

AN: Well, here's Chapter Three. So far, at least in my opinion, it's the best chapter. Even I am looking forward to seeing what happens. ;) Let me know what you think. Cause, really, who doesn't love getting feedback?

Disclaimer: Do not own the characters, blah, blah, blah.

Enjoy!

* * *

CHAPTER TWO

Mina was grateful that Queen Serenity had instructed Serena to show the generals and the Prince from Earth around the palace grounds only minutes later. Usually, when new arrivals appeared on the moon, Mina, as the leader of the Sailor Senshi, led them around as she knew the grounds better than Serena and even Queen Serenity herself. After all, she strolled through the gardens and dome rooms twice a day every day to ensure the safety of the Lunaran royalty.

But she couldn't stop thinking about the way Kunzite's eyes had taken in her appearance with a cold, calculating expression, making her feel all too exposed. There had been a friendly smile on his face, though it was impersonal as the smile didn't quite reach his cold, silver-like eyes. Something about her had caused him to tense right away. Before he had stepped out of the transporter, he had been standing stiff and proud, yes, but his stance had not been quite so rigid. Not until he was standing in front of her, politely shaking her hand with a nod of his head.

Most men that met Mina didn't instantly dislike her or disregard her the way he had. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. Mina wasn't vain, but, seeing as her home planet bore only handsome men and women, was one of the most beautiful women in the universe. Men fought for her attention, spent all their hard-earned money to serve her with gorgeous presents that varied from chocolate candy hearts to expensive jewelry in attempts to gain her favor, or wrote love songs dedicated to her. And while Mina had appreciated all the thoughtful gestures and had many boyfriends whom she was quite fond of, she had not taken a lover just yet. Despite her world's reputation for frivolous and even scandalous behavior and beliefs, she was one who believed strongly in giving herself to a man she was in love with. Not a man who bought her things, or wrote her poems in the middle of the night, or was extremely handsome, but a man she could talk to. Who would listen to her worries and concerns. Someone who would hold her and tell her that everything would be all right and that he would die before he let something happen to her.

Mina shook her head at her silly musings, chuckling slightly as she swung her feet in the shallow, clear pool water beneath her. They were just silly musings, she knew, but she had them quite often, wondering if and when she would ever meet the man she was destined to be mated to for eternity. After all, she was the Senshi of Love. It seemed only natural that she dwelled on the possibilities of love for herself, after all. Again Mina found her thoughts drifting back to that strange man with the silver hair and piercing eyes. He hadn't been so abrasive with the other girls, which made her wonder slightly what it was about her he could find so absolutely abhorrent. Was it her hair? Did the women on Earth not have as long of hair as she did? Or as yellow? Maybe her cornflower blue eyes? Many men had told her they were like endless seas that they wouldn't mind drowning in. But maybe Kunzite didn't like blue eyes. Maybe he preferred amethyst, like Raye's. Or sparkling green, like Lita's.

Groaning, Mina threw her head back in aggravation. She had just the met the man less than an hour before. Why did it seem to matter so much whether he liked her or disliked her? His opinion, or lack thereof, was of no consequence to her. Or, at least, it shouldn't be.

Feeling tension drifting up her spine, Mina decided she would go for a brief swim in the cool blue water of the pool she was currently swinging her feet in.

As she led the group of five men and four women through the palace halls, Serena did her best to ignore the fact that the prince's eyes seemed to follow every move she made, watching every gesture she made to point out lovely sights and recreational rooms. Her heart was thundering in her chest and in her ears at Darien's nearness. It was a wonder nobody else could hear it, though she could tell that her Senshi were as equally distracted by Darien's handsome generals as she was with Darien himself.

"And this, of course, is Amy's favorite room," Serena was saying as they came to a brief stop in front of the library. "It holds thousands of books from all over the galaxy, including books from each of the planets about the planets. I, myself, have always been fond of learning new things."

Directly behind Serena, Amy coughed delicately into her hand, causing Serena to turn and send a spearing glare her way. Amy flushed brightly and glanced down at the ground.

Satisfied, Serena straightened up and turned back to face the front.

Next to Amy, Zoicite turned slightly to the left to look at the still-blushing Mercurian princess and grinned. "Amy," he began, taking notice of the way her head lifted in surprise at being addressed and her pretty blue eyes widened. "I've always been somewhat of a book enthusiast myself..."

"That's putting it mildly," Jadeite mumbled from behind him.

Zoicite ignored him, as he was apt to do since Jadeite always loved making smart ass comments. Especially to him. "So, seeing as how the library seems to be your favorite room, would you mind showing me around?" He turned to briefly gaze into the room, which was four stories high, with at least ten or twelve private rooms on each floor that led out to other areas of the palace.

He turned back to Amy. "Because I'm pretty sure if I venture in there alone, I will disappear and never be heard from again."

Amy chuckled at that and Zoicite felt his heart skip a beat. He had seen hordes of gorgeous women in his lifetime, but none of them could hold a candle to Amy. Her cropped blue hair perfectly framed her small, oval face, matching perfectly with her sapphire blue eyes that he could spend all day staring into. Her slender body was well-proportioned in every dip and crevasse, causing a surge of unexpected lust to travel through Zoicite's body.

Zoicite forced the inappropriate thoughts to the back of his mind as Amy replied with, "I would be delighted to show you the library."

"Excellent!" Zoicite exclaimed, his grin widening as Amy shyly met his gaze before she turned to Serena.

"Serena, it wouldn't be a problem if I accompanied Mr. Zoicite into the library, would it?"

"Please, just call me Zoicite. The 'mister' makes me feel old."

Serena waved Amy towards the library. "Go ahead, Amy. There are only three more major rooms to see in the north wing."

Amy nodded in acknowledgement, as did Zoicite, and the two drifted out of sight as they walked into the large library.

"And this is the kitchen," Serena pointed out thirty minutes later to Darien, Nephrite, and Lita. Kunzite had excused himself some time before to explore the outer palace's surrounding areas. "Where Lita spends a good amount of time cooking and baking delicious food."

"And which Serena enjoys gobbling down as soon as they come out of the oven," Lita muttered with a loud laugh, causing those around her, minus Serena herself, to join in with her laughter.

"Lita, I do not! And it's rude of you to say so in front of guests!"

At that moment, as the group quieted down, Serena's stomach grumbled loudly. Her face flushed bright red as the group started laughing again and she sneered in angry mortification.

As Nephrite's laughter died down once more, he turned to meet Lita's entrancing emerald green eyes. "I would like to sample some of your food, if you have the time." He leaned back on his heels and stared heatedly down at the rather tall woman, though he still towered over her by a good six inches or so.

Lita was embarrassed to feel heat suffusing her cheeks beneath the admiring gaze of the tall, auburn-haired general. "I would be delighted. As Serena said, cooking is my passion. I love cooking for others, especially handsome visitors from other planets."

Serena rolled her eyes and leaned forward to speak quietly to Lita. "Lita, you are such a shameless flirt!"

Lita huffed in reply. "Please; I'm not nearly as bad as Mina."

Darien and Nephrite exchanged amused glances at the exchange.

"Mina has an excuse!" Serena defended. "She is the goddess of love. Therefore, it is practically her job to flirt with men! Even some women."

Lita stuck her tongue out at Serena and then grabbed a slightly stunned Nephrite by the hand to drag him into the kitchen behind her.

Silence fell over Serena and Darien once they realized it was just the two of them. Darien cleared his throat and Serena immediately began striding forward once more through the halls. Once they were a good ten minutes past the kitchen, Darien came to an abrupt halt and turned to face Serena.

"Is something wrong?" she asked shyly, though she had a feeling she knew what he wished to talk about. For the last year and a half, the two of them had been communicating back and forth via letters through the moon's Telecommunications Room, though no one on the moon or Earth knew about it aside from the two of them. Serena had been intrigued by the thought of secretly talking with a man of Earth, so she had seen a letter out anonymously, unaware that it would be intercepted by the prince of Earth and tracked back to her.

Slowly, with each letter more detailed and intimate, revealing thoughts, feelings, and fears that even their most loyal friends didn't know about them, they began to fall in love. If Queen Serenity had found out, she would have had an apoplexy.

Finally, Darien had told Serena it was time they met in person, so he had arranged this meeting with Queen Serenity months ago. He hadn't even told his most trusted generals about how he had fallen in love with the princess of the moon without even having met her.

"Nothing's wrong," Darien replied at last to Serena's innocent question, brushing a stray lock of silver-gold hair back behind her ear. "I just can't believe you never told me how beautiful you are."

Heat suffused Serena's cheeks at those gentle words, which, in Darien's eyes, only added to her beauty. "If you look at the other girls on the moon, I'm much more average..." she began, but Darien cut her off.

"No, 'you,'" he emphasized, making sure she realized exactly who he meant, "are the most beautiful woman in this galaxy. There are tales on every continent of my planet about how ethereal your beauty is and how sweet your personality. People who have never met you, who have only heard stories, love you." His hand moved to cup the nape of Serena's neck and he slowly pulled her forward. "I learned of the beauty inside you and I love you for it."

Serena gulped nervously, her eyes darting down to his plush red lips, subconsciously licking her own which suddenly felt too dry.

"Your inner beauty," Darien murmured huskily as he lowered his head, his lips only inches away from hers, "only enhances your outer beauty."

"Darien?" Serena questioned as his lips began to draw ever nearer to her own.

"Hmm?"

"You really love me?"

A chuckle bubbled forth from Darien's chest, causing it to vibrate. "I wouldn't say it if it weren't true, Serena. I love you more than I ever thought it possible to love another human being."

Serena giggled and slid the palms of her hands up Darien's chest and over his broad shoulders. "I love you too, Darien. Immensely."

With a low growl, Darien hauled her forward and pressed his lips to hers heatedly, his fingers moving to thread through the silky hair of one of her bunned pigtails. When Serena relaxed against him, her mouth parted on a breathy sigh and Darien used that opportunity to gently slide his tongue into her mouth to fully taste her sweetness.

Serena gasped at the feeling of his tongue expertly stroking hers and instinctively began to chase his tongue when it slid out of her mouth and back into his own. She felt Darien grin against her mouth as both his hands drifted down to the small of her back to hold her in place against him.

Serena began to shake when Darien nipped her full bottom lip with his teeth, a pleasure coursing through her body that was foreign to her. Her body felt like it was on fire and there was a throbbing between her legs that she couldn't explain. When she felt wetness beginning to gather between her thighs Serena, embarrassed, reluctantly pulled away from Darien.

Darien's eyes heated longingly as they took in Serena's swollen lips and the flushed look that traveled from her face all the way down her chest. Her breathing was ragged and there was an almost animalistic look in her eyes.

Hearing footsteps headed their way, Darien gently grabbed Serena's wrist and tugged her along down the hall.

Mina climbed out of the pool an hour later, her long blonde hair clinging wetly to her body. She had stripped out of her dress after having determined that she was alone and swam laps in the pool for exercise. After a half hour of that, she had just fallen back and floated languorously in the pool, front side up, of course.

"Do you make it a habit to swim naked in the middle of the day where anyone could happen upon you?"

Mina jumped at the sound of the gruff male voice and spun around without thinking, unwittingly exposing her entire body to Kunzite, who had snuck up on her without her being aware. It was rare that anybody, let alone a tall, gorgeous man, could surprise her.

"General Kunzite!"

When Kunzite's eyes began to trail down her body, Mina's eyes widened and she crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her left leg to shield the apex between her thighs. "Do you mind?" she demanded shrilly.

Kunzite simply quirked a finely shaped silver eyebrow that matched his long locks. "You seem to be the one who doesn't mind showing her body off. And now you're getting modest?"

Rage suddenly coursed through Mina and she sneered. "You're an ass! You come here, you don't even know me, and yet you have the gall to insult me! And to top it all off, you stumble upon me naked, presume to assume that I'm freely showing off my body, as magnificent as it is, to anybody who wants to look, and you're not even gentleman enough to turn around and give me the decency to get dressed!"

At those words, Kunzite slowly began to turn around, but he didn't leave. He remained only a few feet from her, his stance just as rigid as it had been when she had first met him two hours ago. Didn't this guy ever just relax?

While his back was turned, Mina quickly slipped back into her dress, making sure to clasp the front tightly so that no cleavage would be displayed to the icy general. He had already seen more than enough.

"I'm decent," she bit out angrily, squeezing some excess water out of the ends of her hair.

Kunzite turned back to her, his gaze roving over her body, making her feel as though she hadn't dressed at all. "Well, that could easily be argued."

Mina clenched her fists at her sides, resisting the urge to separate the distance between them and clock him a good one. Instead, she stiffened her own posture and erased any trace of emotion-anger, disappointment, humiliation-from her face.

"Well, I'm afraid, General, that I must depart now. I've been swimming in chlorine water and now I find myself in need of a shower to get it out of my hair. I suppose I shall see you later."

"Nonsense," Kunzite replied, stepping forward. "I insist on walking you to your chambers. It's the proper thing to do."

As Kunzite fell into step beside her, Mina couldn't resist snapping, "Oh, now you're going to do the proper thing? But you couldn't do the proper thing when you caught me swimming naked? Instead you just stared at me like the lecher you and your people are?"

She felt Kunzite stiffen next to her, but he didn't respond. Just kept his cool gaze staring straight ahead as he followed her to her quarters in the east wing, between Lita's room and Amy's room.

When they came to stop in front of her door, Kunzite turned and regarded her with narrowed eyes. "Until we meet again." He bowed his head respectfully and turned to walk away.

Mina scoffed as she watched him walk away. "Yeah, I'll be looking forward to that," she muttered sarcastically before marching angrily into her room and slamming the door.


	4. Chapter Four: Playful Spats

Author's Note: Sorry for the belated update, but I'm finally going to get back to working on this story. I reread it and forgot how good it was going.

Disclaimer: Own nothing but the plot. Sort of. Mostly. ;)

* * *

Zoicite stared at Amy in awe as she recited flawlessly the entire book of _From Prague to Paris: A Critique of Structuralist and Post-Structuralist Thought_ without even having to look at any of the pages. Zoicite had read the book maybe twice in his life and he could recall a good portion of the book's content, but not the whole book word for word. To say that he was impressed by Amy's intellect and impressive ability to retain everything she learned would be an intense understatement.

He cut Amy off after another ten minutes, making her blush and apologize for prattling on.

"There's no need for that, Amy," Zoicite said with a chuckle.

Amy glanced up at him. "No need for what?"

"To apologize; I loved listening to your soft talk about the finer points of structuralism conquering the academic minds of the Anglo-Saxon people. I was just hoping we could discuss something else. I have read the book, you know."

A bright blush spread throughout Amy's cheeks for about the tenth time since Zoicite had begun talking to her. It was amusing how she grew embarrassed very easily.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to bore you with ramblings about something most people don't care to even know about..."

"No, that's not what I meant. I actually like listening to your voice. It's almost melodic in a way."

Amy's blush deepened.

Zoicite leaned against the nearby bookshelf. "You know, I find it very endearing when you blush like that."

Amy lowered her eyes to the floor shyly, biting her lip nervously. Unlike the other princesses, Amy was not accustomed to handsome men, or men in general, complimenting her. She was an outsider in most social circles, awkward, and usually intimidated the few men that did speak to her by the way she spoke of things like calculus or biology. Most men didn't like the thought of a woman being smarter than them.

"Thank you," Amy replied quietly, afraid that her face was now the color of a tomato.

Zoicite chuckled and used two fingers to tilt her chin up so he could look into her eyes. "No need to thank me for stating the truth."

They stared intensely at each other for several quiet moments before Amy cleared her throat. "Um, I find that I am growing rather hungry. Would you like to join me for an evening meal?"

"I would love to."

Amy smiled brightly and Zoicite felt his chest constrict at the sight. After she set the book she had been holding back into its proper place, Zoicite held out his arm and she gently placed her hand on the crease of his upper and lower arm and led him out of the library and towards the kitchen area.

* * *

"Stop staring at my ass!" Raye cried indignantly, balling her hands into fists as she glared heatedly at Jadeite.

Jadeite ignored the angry flames flying out of Raye's amethyst eyes and leaned back on the heels of his feet, smirking arrogantly. "That's mighty presumptuous of you," he replied in amusement. "Whoever said I was staring at your ass?"

"I was politely directing your attention to the flames of the fire with which I used a certain potion imported directly from Mars and when I turned around, your eyes were about three feet south of the back of my head!"

"You were never very good with math, were you?" Jadeite shot back, causing Raye's eyes to darken further. "And it just so happens that I was admiring the detailed black and red rose pattern on the floor. I've never seen anything quite like it."

All the anger instantly left Raye's face and was replaced by mortification. Her cheeks turned so red that Jadeite was afraid she **was** actually made of fire herself.

"Oh," Raye mumbled in a soft voice, wringing her hands together in a nervous gesture. "Well, then I'm sorry for accusing you of...of...I'm just sorry!" Anger seeped back into her voice at having to apologize to a man. Especially a man from Earth.

As Raye turned around, refusing to look back at him again, and began the tour anew, Jadeite's eyes trailed back down to the infatuating swell of Raye's behind, grinning wickedly to himself at having come up with a believable answer so fast.

* * *

"How is it that a beautiful princess such as yourself-who can have anything made or done for her by others-can create such delectable food?" Nephrite inquired of Lita as they stood in the kitchen, both leaning against one of the large metal islands.

Lita blushed at the compliment and set the tray of mini-cakes down on the countertop. "Well, when I was about twelve, after I had finished all my training sessions and studies, I decided to visit my cook friend in the kitchen. She was making this complicated-looking pasta dish and I asked her how she was able to make all these things. So, after she put the dish in the oven to heat, she began to teach me how to cook. Every day for five years I learned how to make new things, from pasta and seafood to pastries and desserts."

Nephrite couldn't stop staring at her, entranced. About a week before Darien had informed them of his decision to at long last visit the moon, Nephrite had read in the stars that a brighter future lay ahead of him and the others. That they would meet some new people-the stars had never specified the sex of the new people-that would change their lives for the better.

And now, standing in front of the beautiful and strong princess of Jupiter, Nephrite knew that, once again, the stars did not steer him wrong.

"Well, the lessons have paid off well," Nephrite finally said. "This is the finest food I have ever tasted in my thirty-one years."

Lita beamed brightly, causing Nephrite's heart to start hammering in his chest. "Thank you! That means so much to me!" The smile briefly left Lita's lips. "Most men, when they find out that I cook as a pastime, they laugh at me."

Nephrite's eyes narrowed. "Why would they laugh at you?"

"Because everyone knows that I'm a tomboy."

"A what?"

"You know, I have more male tendencies than female. I'm not one of those sissy girlie-girls, like Mina."

"Hey!"

Both Lita and Nephrite jumped in surprise at Mina's sudden arrival, caught off-guard. They had been so lost in each other's eyes that they hadn't noticed Mina slip into the kitchen.

"I didn't mean that as a bad thing," Lita insisted, slightly flustered.

Mina chuckled before moving forward to peer into the oven. "How's the roast coming along? I'm getting hungry."

Lita straightened up and glanced over at the timer. "It still won't be ready for another half an hour, give or take a couple of minutes."

Mina pouted and stood up. "But I haven't eaten for almost twelve hours," she whined.

"You're starting to sound like Serena," Raye muttered as she strolled into the kitchen, Jadeite not far behind her. "You're not going to start eating consistently all day like she does, are you?"

Mina scowled at Raye and hopped up onto the nearest counter, swinging her legs from side to side as Serena and Darien walked into the room, Serena glaring playfully at Raye.

"Raye, I do not eat _that_ much," she whined.

"Yes, you do. I'm just surprised that you haven't become the obese princess of the moon yet."

Serena's eyes narrowed and she made to move towards Raye. "Why, you..."

As Serena chased Raye around the kitchen and counters, Kunzite walked in, coming to a stop directly next to Mina, who began to blush furiously. Unfortunately for her, this didn't go by unnoticed.

"Mina, why are you so red all of a sudden?" Lita asked in curiosity.

Next to Mina, Kunzite allowed himself a small, unnoticeable quirk of the lips.

Mina placed her hands to her flaming cheeks. "I'm not red. Am I?"

"She's blushing because I caught her swimming naked in one of the palace's many pools," Kunzite answered for her. Immediately he felt Mina's cold, penetrating glare on the side of his face for revealing that information.

All action came to a stop. Serena stopped chasing Raye and the two girls turned to stare at Mina. Nephrite paused with his hand halfway to placing another delicious cake in his mouth, also staring incredulously at Mina. Darien and Lita were watching Mina in slight amusement.

Serena was the one who finally broke the awkward silence. "Mina, I thought you gave up swimming naked months ago when that ambassador from Mercury nearly cut ties with the Silver Alliance after having walked in on you himself."

Mina's face remained flushed at the feeling of everybody's eyes on her. Usually she didn't mind being the center of attention, but not under these circumstances. "Well, I stopped for awhile, but I love swimming and I don't do it very often! And I always swim in the pool that is never used because most people can't even find it!" Mina turned accusing eyes to Kunzite. "Which brings up the question of how **you** even found it in the first place! Were you following me?"

Kunzite lifted his left silver eyebrow. "Don't flatter yourself, Princess. I was merely exploring all the hidden nooks and crevasses of the palace."

"Yeah, that's kind of what Kunzite does," Jadeite spoke up. "We venture to a new place and every time he's out on his own making sure there isn't some trap to capture us or torture us." He reached down, grabbed one of Lita's cakes, and tossed it into his mouth. "He doesn't like to have fun or be sociable in any way. He's a very serious warrior with a stick the size of a boulder up his ass." He smirked at the glare Kunzite sent him.

Darien came to Kunzite's defense. "At least he does his job well. You could do with a little less goofing off, Jadeite, and a little more training. You need to be serious once in awhile."

Jadeite flushed in embarrassment when his eyes met Raye's laughing ones. If there was one thing Jadeite truly hated, it was getting reprimanded in front of a beautiful woman.

"Ha!" Raye cried, pointing her index finger at Jadeite childishly.

Mina, glad that, at least for the moment, the attention was off of her, turned to glare up at Kunzite once more. "You're an ass," she whispered so that only Kunzite could hear her.

"It takes one to know one, Princess," Kunzite shot back.

Mina gasped indignantly. "Do they not teach you manners on your planet?"

Kunzite turned his head to stare into her eyes. "Do they not teach you decorum on yours? Or Modesty?"

Seething, Mina hopped off the counter and walked to the other side of the room, away from Kunzite.

* * *

After dinner, Mina was consternated to find herself escorted back to her chambers, once more, by Kunzite. All the other generals had jumped at the chance to escort the others, leaving Mina and Kunzite the only ones unpaired. Mina had explained to Kunzite that she could make it to her room on her own. After all, she did it every night. But Kunzite would hear none of it.

_"A woman should never have to look out for her own protection," _he had said.

Well, that statement in and of itself had caused a bitter argument between the two that had lasted well up until they reached Mina's door, where she bid him a curt good night and then slammed the door in his face.


End file.
